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Ancient Spirits of Evil
:For the article about the 2011 version of this character, see Ancient Spirits of Evil (2011). The Ancient Spirits of Evil are four demonic phantoms who are not only Mumm-Ra's masters, but the real source of all his powers. They inhabit four giant stone statues that are arranged around a magical cauldron deep inside the Black Pyramid. When these seemingly inert stone statues come to life, their eyes glow red and they speak with a booming, thunderous voice. They can even bring the statues to life and attack an intruder. The four spirits are the ones who are responsible for transforming Mumm-Ra from his feeble mummified state into his powerful ever-living form. Whenever Mumm-Ra wants to change into his ever-living form, he has to call upon the Ancient Spirits. Sometimes Mumm-Ra has to summon the spirits even when he wishes to morph into other disguised forms like Pumm-Ra or the Netherwitch. Each of the four statues is depicted as a humanoid form of a different animal. They are: * Crocodile * Minotaur or Ox or Bull * Wild Boar * Vulture - this statue is known as the "Vulture King" and is the only one of the four statues to ever be mentioned by name in the cartoon series. Apart from transforming Mumm-Ra into various forms, the Ancient Spirits are also responsible for frequently providing him with knowledge and information about various ancient and mystical objects and beings which they hope will enable Mumm-Ra to defeat the ThunderCats. Sometimes the spirits even suggest evil schemes to Mumm-Ra. After surviving the explosion of the Star of Thundera, the Ancient Spirits of Evil not only removed his fear of his own reflection, a weakness that the ThunderCats exploited frequently, but they also gave him additional power during every one of his transformation. While initially the statues did not move when changing Mumm-Ra into his ever-living form, later on they would step out and bathe Mumm-Ra in a powerful green energy which would give him more strength than before. On some occasions the Ancient Spirits of Evil transform Mumm-Ra into an even more powerful form known as the "all-powerful" form in which not only do Mum-Ra's features change but his size and strength increase manifold. The Ancient Spirits also do not hesitate to punish Mumm-Ra when he fails miserably or when he decides to challenge them. But they are also quick to forgive him and give him a second chance. Nemesis In a few episodes ("The Doomgaze" and "Queen of 8 Legs"), Mumm-Ra invokes "Nemesis", a being which he refers to as a force of darkness. Nemesis materializes as a glowing purplish apparition that arises from Mumm-Ra's cauldron whenever Mum-Ra utters the words: "Nemesis, force of darkness, come to the aid of Mumm-Ra!". It is not known if Nemesis is a separate entity from the Ancient Spirits of Evil or a part of them since it was also voiced by Earle Hyman. In both of its appearances, Nemesis appears only to impart knowledge to Mumm-Ra. The first time it was to tell him about Ta-She and her Time Warp Prison while the second time it was to inform him about the birth of Spidera, the queen of the Kingdom of Webs. Strengths The Ancient Spirits of Evil appear to have almost unlimited power. They can produce various kinds of evil magical energies and even summon various evil entities to assist them. Weaknesses The Ancient Spirits apparently are not able to exert their evil powers outside the Black Pyramid, nor are they ever shown to leave the pyramid. It is for this reason that they make Mumm-Ra do their evil bidding. Weapons & Equipment Some of the giant stone statues carry a huge stone sword and when the Ancient Spirits of Evil manifest themselves in the statues and bring them to life, they use the sword to attack any opponent. Trivia * The Ancient Spirits of Evil is the only character in the series to have been voiced by three different voice actors: :* Earle Hyman - in most episodes :* Bob McFadden - in Excalibur (episode) :* Doug Preis - in ThunderCubs - Part V Merchandise The toy company LJN produced a Mumm-Ra's Tomb Fortress playset as part of its ThunderCats toyline. The playset included two of the four Ancient Spirits of Evil statues, those of the Crocodile and the Minotaur. Appearances Gallery Category:Evil Characters (ThunderCats 1980s) Category:Third Earth Natives (ThunderCats 1980s) Category:Characters voiced by Earle Hyman Category:Characters voiced by Bob McFadden Category:Characters voiced by Doug Preis Category:Characters voiced by more than one voice actor